Liturgical Colour : Green
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we listened to the words of the Scriptures speaking to us about our responsibilities as those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, as Christians, in how we live up to our faith and in obedience to God and in following His laws and His ways. In the Epistle which St. Paul wrote to St. Titus, his protege and fellow leaders of the Church, St. Paul mentioned how we can be faithful and good Christians in our daily living.
First of all, it was mentioned how the teachings of the elders and those who preached the Gospel must be faithful, orthodox and of sound doctrine, so as to preserve the truth and keep the faithful in the path of righteousness and towards God’s salvation. And for the rest of the Christian community, each and every members must behave and act in ways that are in accordance with the path which God has shown all of us.
This is linked to what the Lord Jesus said in the Gospel passage today, as He told them using a parable of a servant with the master of the servant, in the matter of how the servant ought to act and behave as a servant. That is what is expected of us as those who follow and serve the Lord, in not expecting returns and satisfactions for ourselves, but rather, we do it instead for the greater glory of God.
This is not something that can be easily done, as we Christians are often affected by the many temptations in life, which caused us into the temptation of power, of glory, of fame and influence, that we end up beginning to desire for these worldly achievements that will likely end up causing us to lose our focus and attention on God, and this has happened many times among even us Christians and within our Church.
There were many occasions throughout the history of our Church when the members of the faithful, both laity and priests alike, jostled and fought one another for power and influence. There were times when the Church hierarchy and leadership were corrupt, and as a result, the Church was divided and broken, and became splintered into many pieces, as people became disillusioned and dissatisfied with the leadership of the Church.
Now, brothers and sisters in Christ, it is now up to us and our present generation to stand up to our true faith in God, to purify our faith and intention, our obedience to God and our way of life. We are God’s servants, and therefore, it is only right that we should upheld His precepts and ways, and practice them wholeheartedly in our own lives. We must turn our hearts to Him and devote our time, effort and attention to serve Him.
Let us all be mindful of what St. Paul said in the Epistle today, that all of us ought to reject the irreligious and ungodly way of life, and embrace fully God, His truth and His ways with real faith and courage. This will require effort from us, the willingness and desire to seek the Lord through our commitment to His way, even in the midst of possible opposition and disapproval from the world and from all those who subscribe to the ways of this world, of greed, desire, pride and all those.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore grow ever stronger in our faith and in our commitment to Him. Let us all seek to love Him ever more, day after day, following the examples of our holy predecessors, the saints and martyrs, all those who have resisted the temptations to sin, or sinned and then repented, and devoted themselves wholly to God from then on.
And let us also pray for our Church leaders and those who have been entrusted as shepherds of the people of God. May the Lord be with all of them and guide them in their ministry, just as He guide us in our faith and life. May God bless us all, now and forevermore. Amen.